


Space Case

by Browa123



Series: Tumblr Promptz [10]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Astronauts, Gen, One Shot, Outer Space, Tumblr Prompt, Tumblr: Writing-prompt-s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-19 04:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22238245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browa123/pseuds/Browa123
Summary: On a feild trip to Amity Park's new Astrological Science Center, Danny encounters the ghost of an astronaut.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Mr. Lancer
Series: Tumblr Promptz [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1288736
Comments: 15
Kudos: 376





	Space Case

"Welcome students!" Lancer's voice echoes through the foyer of the building. "I'd like to thank everyone for joining today's field trip to Amity Park's new Astrological Science Center!"

The place had been under construction for the past year. But, recent discoveries from the latest moon landing required a place attuned to ectoplasmic energy. A space rock was recovered, giving off a faint ecto-signature.

Danny's parents had told him that the Center was built to house the rock, and contain the ectoplasmic contamination to a place already littered with spectral energy. They were probably already in the room, they had a warrant to experiment on the rock with their doctorates in spectral science.

Plus the funding for looking into it was decent. It brought in a little more cash on top of any Fentonworks Patents they already had.

Though, Danny is prepared should anything with the contaminated moon rock go wrong. He doesn't like the idea of his parents being in danger if some space ghost pops out of that thing.

Still, Danny can't deny the fact that he's excited for this trip. He always dreamed of being an astronaut, being among the stars, exploring the vast, empty yet full vacuum of stunning scenery. Space was just so amazing, and it's fascinated him for years.

Now, even though he had toilet grades and no chance of getting into college to study astrophysics, a taste of the infinite world beyond this one lay in his hometown.

Needless to say, he's going to spend a lot of time in this building. His parents are working here temporarily, so he might be allowed in after visiting hours too if he's convincing. The thought excites the Halfa so.

Danny leads the lineup of students behind Lancer. His eyes are practically lit up with stars as he takes in the scenery.

"As you can see, class, this is a star map, it-"

"It shows the stars in three dimensional space, and you can see the light years between all the stars, their names and any constellations they're a part of-" Danny cuts in, beginning to ramble excitedly.

"Mr. Fenton." Lancer coughs into his fist.

"Oh um… sorry, carry on Mr. Lancer…" Danny bashfully kicks the ground with his left foot and wrings his hands.

"No, no. You seem well versed in how these facilities work. I might be willing to give you some extra credit if you teach the class about the astrological discoveries displayed in the new science center," Lancer gives a knowing smirk.

Danny looks back to the group of bored students. Whispering, on their phones and the like.

He can't help but feel a bit offended. How could they be on their phones at a time like this, in a place this wonderful? Was the wide expanse of space, the infinite universe and the origin of basically everything boring to them?!

Oh no. This won't do. Not in his town, not in this place.

"Challenge accepted, um, sir," Danny nods to Lancer and puffs out his chest. No one ignores how cool space is when Danny Fenton is in the room.

"Hey!" Danny calls to the students. "Come on, we're here to learn about space, everyone! I'm sure Lancer is going to have a test on it anyway, so you better be paying attention!"

A bunch of heads snap up to what is very much not Lancer's droning lecture voice.

"For those of you who were not paying attention, Mr. Fenton will now be leading the tour. And yes, there will be a quiz in tomorrow's class about the trip, so be sure to take notes," Lancer smirks.

"Someone looks proud if himself," Sam snickers, looking at Danny's confident position. He really only looks that sure of himself when he's in ghost form, after all.

"Lead us well, substitute teach!" Tucker salutes.

"Alright, so if we move on to the next display, we can see some interesting rocks. There's a difference in these rocks, can anyone guess what?" Danny's grin is giddy as he rocks on his heels. He certainly knows the answer.

Although, he's met with dead silence and blank stares. Danny's expression drops a fair bit.

"Is it like this for you all the time?" He mutters to Lancer.

"Comes with the job, Mr. Fenton," Lancer replies in a deadpan tone.

"Remind me not to be a teacher when I grow up," Danny mutters. He coughs a bit, before turning back to the model with the rocks.

"Ahem. This, is a display about meteors, meteoroids and meteorites," the Halfa elaborates. 

"Meteors are rocks from space, that have survived the friction in the Earth's atmosphere." Danny points to the rock embedded into the ground.

Meteorites are rocks in the midst of falling from space toward the Earth. The heavy amount of friction generated from the speed of gravity pulling the rock to earth ignites the meteorite, and that's why they're also known as shooting stars." The second display is indicated. The flaming rock depicted shoots through the air.

"A meteoroid is a space rock that's still in space. Like an asteroid, but much, much smaller. They're no bigger than a meter wide, and they float aimlessly through the wide expanse of space," Danny points to the third display, two rocks, one large and one small placed next to each other.

And speaking of aimless drifting, the class is staring off into a space of their own while Danny talks. The boy feels his eye twitch.

Wonder if they'd pay attention if Phantom said that he likes space. But he's not that desperate …yet.

"The joy of teaching getting to you yet, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer remarks.

"I'm not in the mood to be guilt tripped," Danny mutters.

"Just doing a little teaching of my own," Lancer replies.

"Whatever. The space shuttle display is next. At least fake piloting it will be a bit more fun than watching my classmates yawn."

Before that, however, Danny feels a shiver go down his spine. Ice blue mist seeps from his lips in a cloud that floats passed his vision.

Just after that, an explosion can be heard. The building's staff and researchers come barreling out the doors, Danny's parents in tow as some force rips the ecto weapons out of their hands.

"Security's been compromised! It's a class eight spectral threat!" Jack declares loudly, backing away as he's unarmed now.

"Lancer, evacuate the kids, we'll hold this post mortem pest off!" Maddie cries, pulling the bo staff out of her suit.

The smoke of the explosion conceals the silhouette of the threat. A deep, guttural breathing can be heard, like a monster wearing an oxygen tank creeping down the hall.

Danny takes the moment of confusion to jump into the model space shuttle. He shuts the door to hide himself from the public eye before straightening his stance.

"I'm Going Ghost!"

The rings of transformation sprout forward from his core as he tugs on the cold sensation. They split in two, revealing the monochrome hazmat jumpsuit his ghostly form wears. Sky blue eyes turn radioactive green, and Danny Phantom is ready to fight.

The Halfa phases through the wall of the model shuttle, smoke from the explosion having cleared while he was morphing. It was time to put a face to the specter that appeared.

The ghost that had caused the explosion seemed to glow with a black backlighting. A thick helmet covered it's face, the visor reflecting stars that hung in the night. 

The heavy breathing seemed to trace back to the ghost, but the life support on the back of its suit was shattered by a bright green rock that contrasted heavily to the rest of the ghost, the area affected by the impact looking a sickly green.

Cords that would lead to an oxygen tank or pressure control are severed, hanging limply by the specter's ankles. The pressure suit itself was marred with scrapes and tears, seeming to be turning to near dust in places.

"Astronaut ghost. What else was I expecting?" Danny mutters as he shakes away the remaining smoke.

The two ecto entities stare each other down, an eerie silence falling over the area, aside from the really, really creepy breathing. Who's this guy think he is with that, anyway? Darth Vader?

All of a sudden, the visor on the suit's helmet lifts off the face area of the ghost, showing rows of sharp, dripping teeth. The ghost roars and lunges at Danny.

"Oh come on!" Danny cries in response. "Why does the astronaut ghost have to be a bad guy! That's not fair!"

The two begin to tussle, Danny blasting hot plasma at the astronaut ghost. The specter in turn makes sharp stones materialise from the air, gray and covered in dent like craters. They're thrown through the air, Danny just barely managing to get knocked out or impaled on the spikes.

"Hey Huston!" Danny taunts. "Got a problem?"

The ghost snarls at the Halfa in turn, lunging and using the busted life support cords to tie up its opponent. The green rot from the rock embedded in the specter's back seems to have spread a bit.

Danny struggles against the tangle of cords squeezing him. "Let. Go. Of. Me!" He cries, using a burst of energy to knock the ghost off him. It roars with pain and surprise as its blown back.

It lunges again with a feral cry, wrapping up debris with its life support cords and flinging the objects at Danny.

"Seriously!? They just finished building this place, why do you have to wreck it!?" Danny cries with sustain while dodging. Why do ghosts always have to ruin his space dreams for him? First keeping him up so he flunks school, and now an astronaut ghost is destroying the space center!

Danny's answer comes in the form of another roar, his opponent clawing and scratching at him as the cables go flying. The astronaut flails around with no rhyme or reason, snarling and growling.

It's then that Danny notices something wrong with the poor ghost. The rock on its back… is it a parasite of some kind?

New target acquired, Danny swiftly moves to the ghosts back. Sure enough, the green rot had spread further, looking very painful.

Lining up a shot, Danny's aim strikes true. He knocks the foul, green rock out of the ghosts back and hears it clatter on the floor. The astronaut ghost stops it's feral snarling, life support cables returning to limply hanging as it too drops to the ground.

Danny's own boots make a small thump as he lands beside the astronaut ghost. His hand and eyes light up an icy blue as he rubs the other's with the cool touch. The specter sighs with relief.

"Hey there, space case. Returned to Earth yet?" Danny prompts. The starry visor turns to look up at the company.

"Ah!? What, who are you!" The ghost jumps back a bit before hissing in pain. "Ow, ugh… my back."

"Its Phantom, I'm sort of a self proclaimed superhero…" Danny holds out his hand to help the startled specter up.

"That's what you think!" Maddie calls at them. Danny had forgotten she was here in the middle of the mess. Though she'd been disarmed of her weapons in the fight, so she should be harmless without them. It's clear she knows that, keeping her distance.

"Dr. Fenton, please. The dead people are talking," Phantom scolds in a mock sophisticated tone.

"...dead? No, no I'm not dead I can't be, I…" the astronaut ghost looks at themself with confusion and fear, staring at their hands and clenching their fingers.

"Yeah… it's a lot to get used to when the ugly truth comes out…" Danny sighs sadly.

"No… no this can't be right… where's the ship? Where's my crew? We were supposed to be heading home… we were heading home when… when…" the ghost begins to tremble.

Danny returns his hand to their back, ice continuing to cool the wounds the rock had left. A solemn look crosses Danny's face.

"I think I know who you are. You're the captain of Aries 15, right? The shuttle… the ship blew up. It blew up fifty years ago… it's historic. A meteorite hit the fuel tank during re-entry. It can't have been more than a half inch wide." The halfa explains.

"F-fifty years…" the ghost echoes. "Yes… yes I remember that now. The radar picked up a fast moving object entering the atmosphere with us. There was no way to evade it in time…"

The ghost breaks down, helmet slamming on the ground as the ghost holds their head. They begin sobbing and wailing sadly.

"You were in that moon rock he latest team brought in, weren't you?" Danny asks. The astronaut looks to the poisonous green rock behind them.

"It's one of the samples we were bringing back. It's a unique metal called ectoranium… the blast must have launched it… and me, back into space… where I've been for fifty years…" the ghost elaborates.

"Hey… it's ok. Why don't you tell me about it? What was it like, flying to the moon?"

Danny doesn't know how long he and the astronaut talk. They introduce themselves as Captain A. Stroid, and they tell Danny everything about their trip to the moon, and everything they learned.

The Halfa watches eagerly, lying on the ground beside the older ghost. His legs have twisted into a tail, wagging back and forth much like a puppy's tail would.

Researchers, staff and schoolmates had returned now that both ghosts are dormant. 

Jack and Maddie can't help but be fascinated by the peaceful interaction between the two ghosts, while those that are fans of Phantom watch as glowing freckles turn into a star map lining the halfa's face, constellations speckled on his cheeks while his eyes glow like stars and nebulas.

"It's called the Ghost Zone. It's the place that ghosts are supposed to live. I can't guarantee reuniting with your crew, but I'm sure we can find an open space to make you a cozy lair. It'll be peaceful," Danny smiles.

"I like you, kid. You got a lot going for you despite everything. Sure, I'll head to this Ghost Zone place with ya. Earth never really was my calling," Stroid chuckles.

"I'll meet you outside in a few, then. I still have a few things to do first," Danny nods. Both ecto entities get up and give each other a firm handshake. Stroid vanishes, and Danny smiles widely before disappearing.

"...Oh, there you are Danny! I was wondering where you were during all the excitement!" Maddie perks up, seeing Danny walk into the room.

"Just, you know, running from the dangerous ghosts and all," Danny chuckles, rubbing his neck.

"Yes, well. I'm afraid we're going to have to end our trip here. We've very much overstayed our welcome, and the ghost attack is going to require clean up," Lancer sighs.

"Aww, but I wanted to learn more about space," Dash pipes up.

"E-excuse me?" Danny can't help but look miffed.

"Well duh! Seeing how happy the ghost boy looked listening to that other ghost talk about it, I can't help but be interested!" Paulina adds.

Danny begins twitching again. He clenches and relaxes his fists a few times.

The chatter of the students wanting to learn, only because Phantom thought it was cool first, makes Danny want to scream a bit. Lancer puts a hand on the boys shoulder with a smirk. All the teen can do is sigh and shake his head.

The joy of teaching indeed.


End file.
